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Latest news from Nottingham's courts

They reduced the £750 fine to £400 but ordered that the driving disqualification should start immediately.

At the magistrates' court, Rowan said that he had spent £12,000 fighting the conviction imposed for driving at 57mph. At that part of the road, the legal limit is 40mph.

The father-of-three lives in Rosyth Crescent, Chellaston, near Derby. After being convicted, he launched a fresh claim, saying a disqualification would cause "exceptional hardship" with the loss of 62 jobs and the closure of two of his offices.

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Managing director Rowan, 45, had claimed the company had already lost customers after a BBC Watchdog programme filmed a salesman for the firm talking to someone with Alzheimer's disease.

The company was accused of aggressive selling and targeting elderly or vulnerable people but Rowan said he was "astounded" by the claims which had been "sensationalised".

Jason Rowan with Watch Dog presenter Matt Allwright (Image: BBC)

He said this caused sales to plunge and he had to reduce his 300-strong workforce to 120 in two months.

But he failed to attend his final hearing at the magistrates' court. His lawyer also failed to provide accountancy details to support to support his case that the ban would harm his business further, leading to the closure of offices in Derby and Leicester with the loss of another 62 jobs.

He had been ordered to pay £930 prosecution costs and a Government surcharge of £120. The ban was imposed because he already had speeding points on his licence.

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In an earlier hearing, Rowan said: "We are trying to save the business. My own bank account is overdrawn.

"We have £40,000 turnover and on-profit margins, we are losing money on a weekly basis. We have got £67,000 going out in the wages bill, a £30,000 deficit every week."

He said it was not possible to employ one of his existing staff as a driver, telling the court: "People can't work the hours I work. The hours I work are absurd. I would need three people 24 hours a day, seven days a week."